Nicolás Maduro’s government actually requested that the UN send election observers to monitor the election and ensure a fair and honest vote. It was the faction that Canada and the US now support who opposed having UN observers present.

Backing a coup in Venezuela is a violation of international law. Ask yourself how you would feel if a foreign nation proclaimed that they would decide for you who runs your country and ignore the results of your own elections.

For the sake of the Venezuelan people, the region, and for the principle of national sovereignty, these international actors should instead support negotiations between the Venezuelan government and its opponents.

The following open letter—signed by 70 scholars on Latin America, political science, and history as well as filmmakers, civil society leaders, and other experts—was issued on Thursday, January 24, 2019 in opposition to ongoing intervention by the United States in Venezuela.

The United States government must cease interfering in Venezuela’s internal politics, especially for the purpose of overthrowing the country’s government. Actions by the Trump administration and its allies in the hemisphere are almost certain to make the situation in Venezuela worse, leading to unnecessary human suffering, violence, and instability.

Venezuela’s political polarization is not new; the country has long been divided along racial and socioeconomic lines. But the polarization has deepened in recent years. This is partly due to US support for an opposition strategy aimed at removing the government of Nicolás Maduro through extra-electoral means. While the opposition has been divided on this strategy, US support has backed hardline opposition sectors in their goal of ousting the Maduro government through often violent protests, a military coup d’etat, or other avenues that sidestep the ballot box.

“Actions by the Trump administration and its allies in the hemisphere are almost certain to make the situation in Venezuela worse, leading to unnecessary human suffering, violence, and instability.”

Under the Trump administration, aggressive rhetoric against the Venezuelan government has ratcheted up to a more extreme and threatening level, with Trump administration officials talking of “military action” and condemning Venezuela, along with Cuba and Nicaragua, as part of a “troika of tyranny.” Problems resulting from Venezuelan government policy have been worsened by US economic sanctions, illegal under the Organization of American States and the United Nations ― as well as US law and other international treaties and conventions. These sanctions have cut off the means by which the Venezuelan government could escape from its economic recession, while causing a dramatic falloff in oil production and worsening the economic crisis, and causing many people to die because they can’t get access to life-saving medicines. Meanwhile, the US and other governments continue to blame the Venezuelan government ― solely ― for the economic damage, even that caused by the US sanctions.

Now the US and its allies, including Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General Luis Almagro and Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, have pushed Venezuela to the precipice. By recognizing National Assembly President Juan Guaido as the new president of Venezuela ― something illegal under the OAS Charter ― the Trump administration has sharply accelerated Venezuela’s political crisis in the hopes of dividing the Venezuelan military and further polarizing the populace, forcing them to choose sides. The obvious, and sometimes stated goal, is to force Maduro out via a coup d’etat.

The reality is that despite hyperinflation, shortages, and a deep depression, Venezuela remains a politically polarized country. The US and its allies must cease encouraging violence by pushing for violent, extralegal regime change. If the Trump administration and its allies continue to pursue their reckless course in Venezuela, the most likely result will be bloodshed, chaos, and instability. The US should have learned something from its regime change ventures in Iraq, Syria, Libya, and its long, violent history of sponsoring regime change in Latin America.

Neither side in Venezuela can simply vanquish the other. The military, for example, has at least 235,000 frontline members, and there are at least 1.6 million in militias. Many of these people will fight, not only on the basis of a belief in national sovereignty that is widely held in Latin America ― in the face of what increasingly appears to be a US-led intervention ― but also to protect themselves from likely repression if the opposition topples the government by force.

In such situations, the only solution is a negotiated settlement, as has happened in the past in Latin American countries when politically polarized societies were unable to resolve their differences through elections. There have been efforts, such as those led by the Vatican in the fall of 2016, that had potential, but they received no support from Washington and its allies who favored regime change. This strategy must change if there is to be any viable solution to the ongoing crisis in Venezuela.

For the sake of the Venezuelan people, the region, and for the principle of national sovereignty, these international actors should instead support negotiations between the Venezuelan government and its opponents that will allow the country to finally emerge from its political and economic crisis.

Signed:

Noam Chomsky, Professor Emeritus, MIT and Laureate Professor, University of ArizonaLaura Carlsen, Director, Americas Program, Center for International PolicyGreg Grandin, Professor of History, New York UniversityMiguel Tinker Salas, Professor of Latin American History and Chicano/a Latino/a Studies at Pomona CollegeSujatha Fernandes, Professor of Political Economy and Sociology, University of SydneySteve Ellner, Associate Managing Editor of Latin American PerspectivesAlfred de Zayas, former UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order and only UN rapporteur to have visited Venezuela in 21 yearsBoots Riley, Writer/Director of Sorry to Bother You, MusicianJohn Pilger, Journalist & Film-MakerMark Weisbrot, Co-Director, Center for Economic and Policy ResearchJared Abbott, PhD Candidate, Department of Government, Harvard UniversityDr. Tim Anderson, Director, Centre for Counter Hegemonic StudiesElisabeth Armstrong, Professor of the Study of Women and Gender, Smith CollegeAlexander Aviña, PhD, Associate Professor of History, Arizona State UniversityMarc Becker, Professor of History, Truman State UniversityMedea Benjamin, Cofounder, CODEPINKPhyllis Bennis, Program Director, New Internationalism, Institute for Policy StudiesDr. Robert E. Birt, Professor of Philosophy, Bowie State UniversityAviva Chomsky, Professor of History, Salem State UniversityJames Cohen, University of Paris 3 Sorbonne NouvelleGuadalupe Correa-Cabrera, Associate Professor, George Mason UniversityBenjamin Dangl, PhD, Editor of Toward FreedomDr. Francisco Dominguez, Faculty of Professional and Social Sciences, Middlesex University, UKAlex Dupuy, John E. Andrus Professor of Sociology Emeritus, Wesleyan UniversityJodie Evans, Cofounder, CODEPINKVanessa Freije, Assistant Professor of International Studies, University of WashingtonGavin Fridell, Canada Research Chair and Associate Professor in International Development Studies, St. Mary’s UniversityEvelyn Gonzalez, Counselor, Montgomery CollegeJeffrey L. Gould, Rudy Professor of History, Indiana UniversityBret Gustafson, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Washington University in St. LouisPeter Hallward, Professor of Philosophy, Kingston UniversityJohn L. Hammond, Professor of Sociology, CUNYMark Healey, Associate Professor of History, University of ConnecticutGabriel Hetland, Assistant Professor of Latin American, Caribbean and U.S. Latino Studies, University of AlbanyForrest Hylton, Associate Professor of History, Universidad Nacional de Colombia-MedellínDaniel James, Bernardo Mendel Chair of Latin American HistoryChuck Kaufman, National Co-Coordinator, Alliance for Global JusticeDaniel Kovalik, Adjunct Professor of Law, University of PittsburghWinnie Lem, Professor, International Development Studies, Trent UniversityDr. Gilberto López y Rivas, Professor-Researcher, National University of Anthropology and History, Morelos, MexicoMary Ann Mahony, Professor of History, Central Connecticut State UniversityJorge Mancini, Vice President, Foundation for Latin American Integration (FILA)Luís Martin-Cabrera, Associate Professor of Literature and Latin American Studies, University of California San DiegoTeresa A. Meade, Florence B. Sherwood Professor of History and Culture, Union CollegeFrederick Mills, Professor of Philosophy, Bowie State UniversityStephen Morris, Professor of Political Science and International Relations, Middle Tennessee State UniversityLiisa L. North, Professor Emeritus, York UniversityPaul Ortiz, Associate Professor of History, University of FloridaChristian Parenti, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, John Jay College CUNYNicole Phillips, Law Professor at the Université de la Foundation Dr. Aristide Faculté des Sciences Juridiques et Politiques and Adjunct Law Professor at the University of California Hastings College of the LawBeatrice Pita, Lecturer, Department of Literature, University of California San DiegoMargaret Power, Professor of History, Illinois Institute of TechnologyVijay Prashad, Editor, The TriContinentalEleanora Quijada Cervoni FHEA, Staff Education Facilitator & EFS Mentor, Centre for Higher Education, Learning & Teaching at The Australian National UniversityWalter Riley, Attorney and ActivistWilliam I. Robinson, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Santa BarbaraMary Roldan, Dorothy Epstein Professor of Latin American History, Hunter College/ CUNY Graduate CenterKarin Rosemblatt, Professor of History, University of MarylandEmir Sader, Professor of Sociology, University of the State of Rio de JaneiroRosaura Sanchez, Professor of Latin American Literature and Chicano Literature, University of California, San DiegoT.M. Scruggs Jr., Professor Emeritus, University of IowaVictor Silverman, Professor of History, Pomona CollegeBrad Simpson, Associate Professor of History, University of ConnecticutJeb Sprague, Lecturer, University of VirginiaKent Spriggs, International human rights lawyerChristy Thornton, Assistant Professor of History, Johns Hopkins UniversitySinclair S. Thomson, Associate Professor of History, New York UniversitySteven Topik, Professor of History, University of California, IrvineStephen Volk, Professor of History Emeritus, Oberlin CollegeKirsten Weld, John. L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Social Sciences, Department of History, Harvard UniversityKevin Young, Assistant Professor of History, University of Massachusetts AmherstPatricio Zamorano, Academic of Latin American Studies; Executive Director, InfoAmericas

For context, we can look at all of the other relevant examples of this sort of thing in the region, which have harmed democracy and cost many thousands of lives just to support corporate imperialism. Pretending that this time will be different is ludicrous.

I highly recommend making time to watch John Pilger’s excellent documentary about decades of US assaults on democracy in South America, “The War on Democracy” which can be watched for free on Vimeo here: https://vimeo.com/16724719

By restricting Venezuelans in Canada from casting their votes through the Venezuelan embassy, the Canadian government effectively deemed Venezuelan elections fraudulent before they even took place. This is not how international law works.

“Guatemala’s President, Jimmy Morales, dismantled a United Nations anti-corruption group and barred its head from entering the country.

“Honduras’s President, Juan Orlando Hernandez, took power in 2014 after a dubious election and violent crackdown on dissent, then ignored his country’s constitution to win re-election in 2017.

“Brazil’s new President, Jair Bolsonaro, has not only publicly attacked women, gay people, immigrants and people of colour, he has also expressed support for torture and his country’s military dictatorship.

“Colombia has witnessed the execution of 120 human-rights leaders in the past two years.